ROCKFORD — After finishing second as seventh-graders last year, the Kennedy girls basketball team made sure not to let it happen as eighth-graders.

Led by Imari Taylor and Keyshia Armstrong, the No. 1-seeded Wildcats led by 18 points by half en route to a 42-10 victory Thursday over Eisenhower for the eighth-grade Rockford School District’s middle school girls basketball championship at Auburn High School.

Taylor and Armstrong scored 12 points apiece, and each contributed six of their points in a 16-3 run in the third period as the Wildcats led 37-8 heading into the fourth.

“We’ve been waiting to get back here since last year,” Taylor said. “It feels so good.”

The victory was even sweeter because Eisenhower won the seventh-grade championship last year and many of those players were on this season’s eighth-grade team.

“After watching them play last year,” I was knew what they could do,” coach Walter Hill said. “They just had to believe it for themselves.”

The Wildcats’ (14-0) pressure defense was the downfall for the No. 3 Eagles (10-7). Kennedy led 10-2 in the first period.

“We knew they would play very good defense, but they also showed that they could knock down shots too.” Eisenhower coach Ketra Ayers said.

7th grade

Led by Nia Neal, No. 2 Flinn defeated top-seeded West 38-21 for the team title.

Neal scored nine of her 16 points in the first half. Tayjia Jordan added nine for Flinn. Ty’meria Taylor had six points and Carmen Barnes scored five to lead West.

6th grade

Eisenhower guard Ambranette Storr couldn’t be stopped as she led her team to a 22-19 win over top-seeded Flinn.

Storr scored a game-high 17 points as the No. 2 Eagles finished the season at 12-2. The team’s only two losses came against Flinn.

“It means a lot,” Storr said. “We lost to Flinn twice and we’ve been practicing hard to get better.”

Storr said her teammates helped her to get open throughout the game: “They found me in transition. They set me up for the plays. It was a team effort.”

Annette Brandy, Storr’s mother and Eisenhower’s coach, said the team went to a box-and-two defense to outmatch Flinn.